


Option 3

by HavingaVeryDrarryDay (Vega_Lume)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adopted Children, Anxiety Disorder, Bashing Ginny Weasley, Bashing Ron Weasley, Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Draco Malfoy is Clueless About Muggle Things, Draco learns to drive!, Established Relationship, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Not Epilogue Compliant, Original Characters - Freeform, Post Hogwarts, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Unusual or unexpected jobs, Will have a happy ending, bitch!Ginny, boring everyday life stuff, friends with muggles, living like a Muggle stuff, lovey dovey fluffy stuff, mentions of past substance abuse, no sex but you know they have it, past reference to canonical child abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22889986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vega_Lume/pseuds/HavingaVeryDrarryDay
Summary: The Weasley's expect Harry to marry Ginny, but Harry and Draco are in love.Draco's parents don't speak to him, and Wizarding folk hex him and spit as he passes by.How can they make it work when everyone seems so set against them?Or, the one where Harry and Draco run away.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, original character/original character (major)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please don’t let the intro scare you away, pretty much all of the Weasleys that appear in this fic are assholes to begin with, sorry about that. 
> 
> Fortunately it’s only for a page or two and then you won’t see them much after that.
> 
> This is my story, and in my world it’s perfectly commonplace for someone to be ‘out’ and for non-heterosexual couples to be legally (as in recognized by law) married. I’m also messing about with some legalities and how long it actually takes to cut through the red tape in regards to certain things that will become apparent later on in the story, so no need to tell me that it doesn’t work that way. Just blame it on magic, okay?
> 
> This is all about Harry and Draco being happy together.
> 
> Oh, and the Option number thing will be explained.
> 
> NOT BETA READ

Taking Option 3

By HAVDD

Ron and Harry stepped though the Floo into the Burrow and stood for a moment, dusting the soot from their uniforms, just as they had done every Wednesday going on three years now. Even when they had disagreements they still visited Molly and Arthur each Wednesday unless away on assignment, though recently Harry only stayed long enough for a quick catch up and a cup of tea.

“You look as if you’ve been wanted to tell me something all day,” Ron commented.

Harry stopped patting at his robes and turned to look at his friend, “I’m going to ask Draco to marry me, and I would like you to stand up with me.”

“What?” Ron asked in reply sounding genuinely confused.

“Look, I know you don’t really like him, but I love him and I honestly can’t see myself with anyone else.”

“What about my sister?” Ron demanded, tossing his outer robes on a chair. “You’re breaking her heart by being with that ferret! It’s screwing everything up!”

“For the thousandth time, I am not in love with Ginny. I never was and I never will be. I’m in love with Draco and if he will have me I’m going to marry him, with or without you there.”

“You can’t be serious!” Ron bellowed but Harry held his ground.

“You need to stop now before we both do something we’ll regret,” he warned.

“What is going on in here?” Molly asked sternly, she suddenly appeared in the kitchen doorway still holding a large spoon, a smudge of flour on her cheek.

“Harry’s going to ask Malfoy to marry him, bleeding, fucking weasel!”

Molly’s expression immediately went from irritated to disappointed, “Oh Harry dear,” she said in an irritatingly pitying tone. “You’ve only just broken up with Ginny. Shouldn’t you wait a bit love, see if it’s really what you want? You know she’s just waiting for you to settle into yourself a bit.”

He closed his eyes and took a calming breath.

He had broken it off with Ginny over two and a half years earlier when he knew it wasn’t going to work out. He had seriously tried to make as go of it but, it wasn’t going to be what either of them wanted and he knew it almost from the start. He loved her, that much was true but he wasn’t _in_ love with her. When he realized that that’s what was missing he had been honest with her and had told her the truth. That though he loved her, he never had been in love with her.

That went down a treat, and after she screamed herself raw she never spoke to him again.

He didn’t know what she had told her family, but for some reason they were all of the opinion that they were just on a break while Ginny trained with the Harpies, and that eventually they would come together again and get married.

He and Draco had run into each other a few months after the break up. Harry had just come back from an Auror training session when Malfoy turned up at Robard’s office to drop off a package from the apothecary he was working for. Draco had been sent to Azkaban straight out of Hogwarts where he was sentenced to six years but spent only five months. He then spent one month under house arrest before being entered into a sort of work release program which was how he came to be working for the Apothecary.

They spoke briefly and decided to just drop the rivalry and set a date for lunch to see if they could make a go at being friends.

They had gotten on quite well and started spending more time together.

Ron hated that Draco was suddenly coming round during their drink nights and complained about it quite loudly, so rather than tell Draco to stop joining them; Harry stopped coming instead.

They didn’t speak to each other at work about the budding relationship, but outside of work Harry had tried talking to Ron, to get support from his oldest friend, especially when it became clear that their relationship had finally shifted to proper dating, but Ron had adamantly refused to think of Draco as Harry’s boyfriend, so much so that both Ron and Hermione had tried to talk him out of it.

And now that Harry was seriously thinking about marriage, he had a sinking feeling that his adopted family was never going to accept Draco, or Harry as long as they stayed together.

He let out the breath loudly and fixed Ron and his mother with a level stare.

“I love him,” he said simply, “And I love you. But nothing short of Draco turning me down is going to stop me from marrying him. If you can’t accept him as my husband then I think it would be best if we just parted company now.”

“Don’t let _him_ come between you and your family,” Molly tried.

“He isn’t, you are.” Harry said simply. “He loves me and he would never want me to lose you because of him. But if you force me to chose, you will lose.”

“But what about Ginny?” She tried once more.

“What about her?” Harry snapped. “We haven’t spoken in over two years, and that’s only if you consider her screaming at me a conversation.”

“It was Malfoy’s fault…” Ron tried and Harry exploded.

“Argh, Draco was still in Azkaban when Ginny and I broke up!” He shouted. “That’s it! When you’re ready to talk to me without blaming my boyfriend for everything you see wrong, you know where to find me. Until then I won’t be back.” He threw a handful of powder in the Floo and disappeared in a roar of green flame.

He stumbled out into the front parlor Grimmauld Place and a stalked angrily to the kitchen and started putting supper together. By the time the meal was ready to plate he was calmer. A quick glance at the clock told him that Draco would be home soon and an instant later the tell-tale whoosh of the Floo brought a smile to his lips.

“Ha…Harry.”

Harry dropped his plate on the bench and ran for the parlor.

Draco was ashen, his face dotted with sweat as he clutched the arm of one of the chairs.

“Fuck,” Harry gasped as he slid to a halt beside him. “Where’s your phial?”

“Robes,” Draco managed and Harry’s hands went to his pockets, pulling out the small phial he found in the breast pocket. He then unscrewed the lid, pulling the dropper free and slipped the glass tube into Draco’s mouth and squeezed the potion under his tongue.

They stood quietly as Harry ran his hand over the bowed back. After the other man’s breathing eased he helped him to the couch and then sat beside him.

“What happened?” Harry asked gently.

“Bartlett threw a stinging hex at me just as I stepped into the Floo. He was upset with me all day because I messed up an Owl order yesterday, or so he said.”

“In other words, he messed up and took it out on you again.”

Draco rubbed his aching chest and drew in a breath that suspiciously sounded like a sob, “I can’t do this Harry, I just can’t.”

“Love?”

“  
I’m- I’m sorry.” Harry’s heart sank at Draco’s miserable expression. “I’m going to Shacklebolt in the morning to tell him that I’m taking Option 3.”

Harry took a shuddering breath of relief. Monumentally glad that wasn’t the _‘I’m breaking up with you’_ that he had feared.

“Come here love,” he said gently trying to coax him closer.

“No we can’t,” Draco tried to pull away but Harry threw an arm around his shoulder. “You know what Option 3 means for me, for us.”

“Draco Malfoy, I love you. Don’t think for one moment that if the Ministry sent you away that I wouldn’t go with you.”

“But you have a life here.”

“You are my life,” Harry replied softly. “There will never be anyone I want more than you.”

He looked down at his hands which were knotted together in his lap, “So you’re fine with giving up everything just because I can’t stand my boss?”

“No,” he said truthfully. “I’m looking forward to sharing my life with you, and I’m all for you leaving your job to get away from that arsehole.”

His head whipped up, “But I’ll be a Muggle!”

“No you won’t. You’ll be a Wizard with a stronger magic restriction than you already have. At least until your probation is up. And don’t forget, I was raised as a Muggle so it doesn’t bother me at all to go back to some of that.”

“I’ll stick it out,” said Draco sounding depressed and laid his head on Harry’s shoulder. “I only have three more years of it. I just don’t want to go back tomorrow.”

“If you really want to stay here and work through Option 2 then I’ll support you but you’ll have to report Bartlett to Auror Cummings again. But remember that you don’t have too, that’s why you have Option 3.”

“I really do want to get away from it,” he sighed.

“Then don’t go back. Let’s quit our jobs, elope, and run away to wherever they send us and we can shag whenever and wherever we want.”

“You’re insane,” Draco said softly but he had a soft affectionate look on his face when he glanced up at him.

“I’m serious,” Harry said as he pulled away to look into his eyes. “After my conversation with Ron at the Burrow today realized that I can’t work with him anymore. He’s just never going to forgive me for breaking it off with Ginny.”

“You fought over me again?”

“No we fought over Ginny again; it didn’t really have anything to do with you.”

Draco frowned then tilted his head in question as a tiny smirk graced his lips, “You said elope.”

“I’ve wanted to marry you for ages; I’ve had the ring for ages. I was actually planning asking you this weekend, but now I’m thinking, why wait?”

The smile slowly spread wider across his face. “Okay Mr. Potter, sell me on it.”

“We go to apothecary and you quit, then we go to the Ministry and have Kingsley join us, and then I quit. You do the Option 3, and then we come back here and shag until Option 3 goes in effect.”

“What if they demand that I leave the community right away?”

“They won’t. They’ll still have to arrange the identity you’ll use, and where you have to go, and then set up your place in the Muggle community so you’ll have at least three days as they sort things out. Probably four because of the weekend, they’ll most likely wait until Monday to get you a Portkey.”

There had been a huge argument when Option 3 passed because it was potentially a very expensive folly that had only come about because of the overcrowding in the prison and the Wizarding community didn’t want the Death Eaters walking about, however and unsurprisingly so, no Death Eaters had wanted to have their magic sealed and live lives like the Muggles did and thus the allotted funds went mostly unused.

“A new life somewhere where no one knows who my father is or what I’ve done?”

“Somewhere where I’m not the ‘Savior of all Wizarding kind’ and my private business isn’t front page news.”

“Where I don’t get spat on because I’m dating you?” Draco added.

“No more howlers or cursed posts, or psychos sending us their used knickers and locks of hair by owl.”

“That actually sounds quite perfect,” Draco told him.

“Let’s go then!” Harry jumped up and pulled him to his feet.

“What! Right now?”

“Yes, right this minute.”

Draco still smiling and allowed Harry to pull him to his feet.

“Let me change first. I’m not getting married smelling like burnt bat guano from Bartlett’s Apothecary,” Draco said then gave Harry a quick kiss before heading off to his room to change.

While Draco was getting dressed Harry went back to the kitchen and set their meal under stasis charms so it would keep until they were ready to eat it, then he too went to his room to change out of his Auror robes.

The couple met in the front parlor some twenty minutes later and took turns Flooing to the Ministry of Magic.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not beta read

PART 2

As they stepped into the atrium of the Ministry Harry stopped and looked at Draco.

“Let’s go to Gringotts first, I want to convert some gold before we see Kingsley. When we join, what's mine becomes yours and I want to make sure we have something if they try to seize my vaults like they did yours.” 

“It might be better if I wait for you here,” Draco said. “You know how they treat me there.”

Harry frowned but didn't disagree. He simply led him over to a visitors bench where he could easily find him again when he returned. “I'll be as quick as possible.”

With Draco safely seated where no one was likely to notice or bother him, Harry dashed over to the bank and waited in a short queue for his turn to speak to a goblin.

None of them were really all that happy to see him after that little stunt they pulled trying to break into Bellatrix’s vault, but he paid enormous fees on his own vaults so they still allowed him to use their services.

“I wish to close one of my vaults and have the contents converted to Muggle funds. I would also like to have additional protections added my other vaults along with my Grimmauld place and Godric’s Hollow properties.”

“What would you need them protected from?”

“I have reason to believe the Ministry may attempt to seize them for reparations.”

The goblin smiled deviously and produced several documents for him to sign, one of which was the conversion of the one vault as he had requested. Harry read each one carefully, twice, before signing them. In the end he has agreed to forfeit access and all interest on his holdings as payment for the protection of the bank. In return Gringotts will not acknowledge the existence of anything in his name and for now would be the legal owners of everything; until the time came that he revoked said protection in writing.

He left the bank with a stack of British pounds, shrunken for convenience. A cheque for the balance as the bank hadn't enough Muggle funds to cover the vault, and a single document that would allow him to reclaim his property once he was certain it was safe to do so.

He reentered the Ministry and found Draco where he had left him.

“All set?” he asked as he rose when Harry approached. 

“Yep, the Ministry won't be able to take a single Knut.”

Harry led them through the building with the ease of familiarity, and soon they were standing outside of Kingsley Shacklebolt's office with his secretary staring at Harry as if he were a God, but she always looked at him that way.

“Is he in?” Harry asked and the woman nodded, her mouth hanging open.

“She’ll catch flies,” Draco whispered as Harry led him past her and tapped on the door.

He bit back a bark of laughter as the door swung open on its own.

When Kingsley spotted Harry he called out, “Come in,” beckoning him to enter, then his smile of greeting faltered briefly when he saw whom Harry had brought with him. He waited for the pair to sit before asking, “What do I owe the pleasure?”

“We would like you to bond us,” Harry replied and if the gobsmacked look in his face was anything to go by, bonding was the last thing Kingsley expected Harry to say.

“Really?” he rasped. “To Malfoy?”

“Why does everyone keep saying it like it's some huge surprise?” Harry wondered aloud. “I mean, Ginny and I broke up right out of Hogwarts and Draco and I have been dating exclusively for a year and a half now.”

“Has it been that long?” Kingsley asked sounding surprised. 

“We started seeing each other right after I started working at the apothecary,” Draco told him. 

“And you're absolutely sure that this is what you want? In secret, and without friends and family?”

“I couldn't be more sure,” Harry replied and Draco smiled. 

Shacklebolt sighed, “Do you have a token to exchange?”

Harry pulled a plain gold band from his robe pocket and set in on the desk, while Draco slid a silver chain out of his robe collar. From it dangled the singlet ring he had worn in school. It had been taken by the Ministry but Harry had tracked it down and bought it back for him for his birthday the year before.

He carefully lowered beside the other ring.

“Very well,” He summoned a few sheets of parchment then called out to his secretary. “Graciana, would you come in here please?”

His secretary poked her head in, and at the crook of Kingsley’s finger she slipped into the office and came to stand beside him, where he had indicated. 

“Sign this please,” he requested and tapped finger on the parchment that lay on his desk.

As it wasn't uncommon for her to bear witness on occasion so she barely skimmed the document before signing it, knowing instantly that it was a privacy statement. 

“Please stand and clasp left hands,” he instructed the couple. They did and he then tapped their joined hands with his wand. 

“Harry, in the presence of this witness do you choose to bond with Draco Lucius Malfoy? To be his life partner in all ways, until death parts you?”

Harry smiled broadly, “Yes, I do.”

“And do you Draco; in the presence of this witness choose to bond with Harry James Potter? To be his life partner in all ways, until death parts you?”

He nodded, swallowing around the tightness of his throat. “I do.”

“Take up your tokens with your right hands while keeping your left hands joined, and place the tokens where your spouse will wear them.”

Taking great care Harry slipped the gold band on Draco's left ring finger as Draco managed to loop the chain over Harry's head.

“This union is now, and shall forever more be recognized by the Ministry of Magic. You may now kiss and seal the bond.”

Hands still joined they kissed, smiling against each other's mouths when Graciana started clapping. 

“Well, this isn't how I expected to end my day when I woke up this morning,” Kingsley said as he sent off the privacy statement and summoned the license for the newly bonded couple to sign. Once the four present signed it, it was stamped and whisked away, then Graciana was sent back to her desk and the couple finally separated and sat back down.

“Now tell me why it was so necessary for you to bond urgently and privately?”

“There are actually a few reasons why,” Harry explained. “Firstly it's because Draco has decided to take Option 3.” 

Kingsley looked shocked. 

“Because of that I have decided to quit my job and join him. As you know only spouses and children are allowed to join a family member that is ‘relocated’."

“You don't have to quit to join him-” Kingsley tried but Harry stopped him.

“Yes I do. It would be monumentally unfair for me to bounce into this world everyday and leave my husband stuck in the Muggle world unable to join me or even do magic of his own. And besides, after the falling out I had with Ron and his family today, I don’t think I'll be able to work with him again."

“You had a falling out with the Weasleys?”

Harry nodded sadly, “they still, for some reason expected me to marry Ginny and got very angry at me when I told them that I was never going to, and that I was planning on marrying Draco. Hurtful things were said on both sides and it will be a very long time before we would be on speaking terms again.”

“Oh Harry, I’m so sorry.” Draco whispered. “I never wanted to come between you and your family.”

“You didn't, not really. Ginny and I were never well matched so our break up was inevitable. It wouldn't matter to them who I was with; if I wasn't going to marry her then I was in the wrong.”

Draco still looked upset so Harry pulled his chair closer and wrapped an arm around him before addressing Kingsley again.

“Draco tried is hardest to manage Option 2, but too many people still condemn him, mostly for who his father is. Even his boss hexes him whenever he feels like it and despite reporting the attacks to his probation Auror, nothing comes from it. As for me, I can't go anywhere in this world without someone asking for an autograph, or finding my private information in the Prophet. I know Option 3 was meant to be a punishment but for us it could be a chance at a fresh start.”

Put that way it really did seem like it could be a blessing for the young couple. 

Though the option meant that Draco would have severe restrictions to his magic and would be forced to remain in the Muggle world for a period of 20 years, it worked something like witness relocation and protection. The convict was given a new name and a new life, far from where they had been, since they were relatively unprotected without their magic. This helped to keep them safe from anyone who may want revenge on them. The convict was remotely monitored and Ministry would stay in contact with them, just to be sure they were keeping their nose clean but for the most part they were left to live their lives.

With a wave of his wand, Kingsley summoned another stack of parchments 

“Normally you wouldn’t get a choice of where you’re sent. Some convicts have gone to America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Mexico. But I’ll do my best to keep you in the county.”

He worked over a parchment in silence for a few minutes, then paused, gave them a calculating look, then started writing again.

After what seemed like hours he stopped and slid a single paper over. “Read it well then sign at the bottom,” He said to Draco.

He read it thoroughly then passed it to Harry who read it as well. It was short and to the point.

Draco of his own free will was taking Option 3 and was fully aware that he would not be able to revoke the choice later; he could not go back to Option 2 and if for any reason he should he choose to not complete his sentence, or attempts break contact with the Ministry he would immediately go back to Azkaban. 

Seeing it in black and white was a touch unnerving but, with his current option as Ministry grunt and Bartlett’s favorite thing to fire hexes at, with the side joy of people spiting at him when he passed, being a Muggle sounded great.

They shared a small look then Draco turned to use the edge of the desk to sign his name.

Kingsley signed witness to the document and set it aside. “With the upcoming weekend you’ll have until Monday before this contract goes into effect. I will personally oversee it and bring everything you need to you after work hours on Monday. From there you’ll have until midnight to finish up the last of your arrangements.”

“So that’s it?” Harry asked.

“Until Monday, yes. There will be one final form that you both will need to sign before I give you the Portkey but otherwise you’re all set.”

The couple stood and started for the door but stopped when Shacklebolt called out to them.

“And Malfoy, don’t quit tonight. I’ll see to it myself in the morning.”

“Thank you sir.”

They left the office then and had hardly gone ten feet when Harry said, “Hang out here for a second, I forgot something.”

At Draco’s nod he stepped back into Kingsley’s office.

“I know I’ve asked a lot of you today but I have just one more favor.”

Kingsley smiled.

“Draco has a chronic health problem, it’s something that started back in school and he doesn’t like to talk about it but it is the reason why he was released from Azkaban so early. He’s been seeing a healer at St. Mungo’s once a month for treatments but with his new restrictions to Magical care, would it still be possible for him to see a healer or have his case transferred a Muggle doctor that treats Wizards?”

“I’ll see that he can continue to get care.”

“Thank you,” Harry replied sincerely. “One last thing, Bartlett knows of Draco’s health issues and knows they are aggravated by curses and hexes.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you again, we’ll see you on Monday.”

As much as Harry wanted to hold Draco’s hand as they left the Ministry and made their way to the atrium, he knew too many people would be watching and though their relationship wasn’t exactly secret, he didn’t want to risk folks connecting his association with Draco to his soon to be sudden disappearance.

They took separate Floos to separate addresses and joined up at Grimmauld Place a few minutes later.

“I was thinking we should just make a clean break,” Harry began after they sat to eat the meal he had made, still fresh and warm under their stasis charms. “You already cut ties with your family and if I tried to talk to any of my friends they would just interfere. It would be best of we just didn’t say anything to anyone.”

Draco nodded. Though it sounded a bit cruel, he knew it would be best. Sure everyone would hate him for it, but everyone already hated him anyway so it really didn’t matter to him anymore how they felt about it. As long as it was what Harry wanted, he was fine with it.

“Why don’t we just leave everything as it is and start completely fresh,” Draco suggested. “We can go to Muggle London and buy some new clothes, just enough to tide us over and only take from here the few things we can’t do without.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Seeing how Gringotts technically owns the house for now, it will be well looked after and that includes everything inside, so it’s safe to leave what we don’t need or want to take with us.”

Draco wiped his mouth with a napkin then summoned a pad and quill. He flipped to a clean page and wrote ‘shopping list’ at the top. “So what do we need, aside from Muggle clothes?”

“Well as we both know, Option 3 comes with a furnished flat,” Harry started, “so we really shouldn’t need much more than what we would take to a hotel, except maybe a few days worth of food and tea, though I would expect some food will be provided as well.”

“That’s what I was told, seeing how that most are placed right out of Azkaban,” Draco agreed. “But since I’m required to complete a class to learn how to live in the Muggle world, which at the end I will be placed in a job like I had been with the apothecary, during that period of unemployment the Ministry provides everything I need including a small allowance to buy necessities.”

“So Muggle clothes and toiletries first,” Harry said and Draco noted them in the book.

Between bites they added to the list of things needed and where to get them, and by the time their meal was finished Draco had filled two pages in his book. They went through it a few times adding things and taking some off, or moving to another list to get later.

They then cleaned up and called it a night a short while later knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day. They had agreed that after their shopping trip they wouldn’t go out again unless it was absolutely necessary and then only Harry would go.

They just didn’t want to risk any unwanted news stories until after they were gone. Especially ones of them together. The less the public put two and two together, the better.

*

They woke fairly early the next morning, both so used to getting up for work. But upon realizing that neither had anywhere they needed to be right away, they spent a lazy morning in bed, then took a long shower together before heading out to do their shopping in Muggle London right after lunch time.

Though Draco already had magic restrictions that included monitoring, he had been allowed a certain amount of freedom compared to other parolees due to his job at the apothecary. However in a few days his magic would be restricted further only being left with what was needed to ensure that the core block didn’t kill him and that the Ministry could still trace his signature.

So he decided the sooner he got used to being without it the better, and had refused to use any magic at all starting the moment he had woken up that morning. Their first try at sex without protection spells and lubrication charms had been educational and a few more items made their way onto Draco’s list that morning.

He did consent to a side-along to get them into the city for their shopping and back home again, and allowed Harry to shrink their shopping bags and new clothing, despite Harry’s teasing that it was cheating. Getting Harry to do magic when he was allowing the restriction as well, it just wasn’t something they were going to be able to do past Monday.

They bought take away curry from their favorite place that Thursday night and ate from the cartons as they sorted through their new Muggle clothes. They both decided that simple was best for their new wardrobes and filled the new suitcases with enough jeans, t-shirts, new pants and socks, and jumpers to outfit them for two weeks. Draco had also chosen two pairs of slacks, a dinner jacket and a crisp button down. They got and winter wear as well as it was late September and already beginning to chill.

They woke Friday morning to Hermione’s barn owl tapping loudly on the window and the annoying flare of someone trying to contact Harry through the Floo but both were ignored and eventually the owl left, taking the letter with it.

Through the weekend they ate out of what was left in the kitchen as they went through the house, packing away what they didn’t want left out and piling together what they wanted to take with them or secure even more within the Grimmauld vault.

At five in the evening on Monday, Harry unlocked the Floo and slipped mostly unnoticed into Wizarding London to pick up something for dinner from the only restaurant they both agreed on, and beat Kingsley back to Grimmauld Place by less than fifteen minutes.

“Thank you for the meal,” Kingsley said as they sat at the dining table going through the folder of paperwork containing everything they needed for their new lives.

“Harold Evans-Black?” Harry asked as he read the Ministry fabricated identification card with his photo on it. Kingsley shrugged. “Do you think you can get another ID for me with the name Evan Black?”

“Whatever for?”

“Wizarding transactions,” Harry replied. “I’d like to get us a Public Owl Box and have access to some of our money in Gringotts without connecting Harry or Harold to it.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” the Minister agreed. “If I can’t get it to you tonight, I’ll make sure to have it delivered to your new address via Muggle post. Speaking of your new address, I made a last minute change and I’ve personally gotten you a house. The flat the Ministry worker arranged for you was tiny and completely unacceptable.”

“You didn’t have to do that, I’m sure that flat would have been fine.”

“Call it a wedding present,” Kingsley said with a smile as he pushed away from the table. “Unlike the flat, you both own the house and can make any changes you want to it.” He turned to the Floo, then, “I have to be present when you use the Portkey, so I’ll be back ten minutes to midnight to help you secure the house then walk you to the Apparition point.”

“Wait a tick,” Harry requested and hurried from the room. He returned with a narrow box. “It may be best if you took these now.”

The Minister didn’t need to open the box to know what it contained. “I’ll keep these in my personal vault until you can have them back.”

Harry nodded, “See you again in a few hours,” he said in lieu of goodbye and watched his friend Floo away.

He joined Draco on the sofa so they could go through the rest of the contents of the large folder together and flipped it open, picking up the first page.

“So where are we going?” Draco asked as he tried to look at the page in Harry’s hand.

“Gateshead, it’s in Newcastle.”

“Newcastle upon Tyne?” He questioned and tilted the page to see for himself. “That’s not as far away as I expected.”

“Well Kingsley did say he wanted to keep us in the country.”

“That’s awfully close to Scotland,” he frowned. “What if someone recognizes me there?”

“Newcastle is mostly Muggle and it’s far enough away from Hogwarts and London that you’ll be safe. If someone does see you, you’ll be dressed as, and acting like a Muggle. They’ll probably just think you just look like you but aren’t actually Draco Malfoy.”

“Well, I’m not Draco Malfoy anymore am I? I’m Draconis Evans-Black, husband of Harold Evans-Black,” He tapped the file.

Harry chuckled, “You do realize that if anyone who knows us sees our names somewhere they’ll know it’s us, don’t you?”

“Then we’ll just have to keep our names out of the papers, won’t we?”

Harry chuckled again and set the page aside to look at the next one. It was a listing for the house they would be living in, there were no pictures but it said it was a three bed, two full and one half bath house on a corner lot with a garden both front and back. It sounded bit big for just the two of them but would probably feel positively tiny after Grimmauld Place and Malfoy Manor.

“Huh,” Harry said pulling a small stack if forms with a pamphlet stapled it.

“What is it?” Draco asked.

“We’ve both been signed up for that required class at university for higher education. Apparently were both meant to complete that Muggle educational course.”

“But you were raised buy Muggles,” Draco said. “Why would you need the class?”

“Yeah, but for the last decade I’ve lived in the Wizarding community. I’m sure there’s a lot I don’t know about how things work in the adult world. Like I haven’t a clue how Muggles go about doing their taxes.”

Draco laughed aloud. “Before Azkaban I didn’t know there was such a thing as this class.”

“Me either,” Harry replied. “Honestly they should have a primary version for kids before they get to Hogwarts so they can understand their peers better.”

“And in reverse,” Draco added. “It would do Muggle borns so much good to have a bit of history before being thrown into our world.”

Said that way, Harry could hear a bit of Draco’s pureblood superiority upbringing peeking through but the kind and sincere tone he used clearly showed that he didn’t mean it to be insulting in any way. He was just simply stating that for someone like Harry or Hermione, a class or two before Hogwarts probably would have been very helpful.

“I think they do that in America,” Harry said setting the schooling information aside. “I remember reading something about it during the early part of my Auror training.”

“Well that’s a surprise, the Americans doing something right for a change.”

Harry snorted.

The rest of the folder contained information on how to get in contact with Draco’s new probation Auror, who turned out to be Shacklebolt himself, as well as other things he was required to do over the course of his relocation.

“Look here,” Harry said, holding a finger under a line of text. “Somehow Kingsley got your sentence reduced by half.”

“What?” Draco snatched the parchment and looked at it closely. Sure enough there was a decree from the Wizengamot that unanimously agreed to reduce his relocation and magical restriction from twenty years to ten, minus time served. In all the restrictions expired in just over seven years.

He sat back with a gasp and something loosened in his chest. Though Harry had been wonderful, the feeling that he had made the wrong choice had been growing in him since Thursday morning when he woke with the realization that Harry was giving up everything for him. He knew that no matter what happened Harry wouldn’t make contact with anyone until Draco was free to return and the idea of depriving him from his family for two decades was eating at him.

“Love,” Harry said gently, taking the paper and setting in the folder. “I know you’ve been worrying about me these last few days, but I want you to know that I have absolutely no regrets about any of the decisions I’ve made. This _is_ what I want.”

Draco pulled him into a deep kiss that left them both flushed and a bit breathless, then turned back to the file and finished going though the paperwork.

Once they had both gone over everything, Harry took the folder and tucked into the side pocket of one of their suitcases that they had left sitting open on the coffee table waiting for any last minute additions.

Harry had wanted to keep what they took with them down to one bag each, with the contents kept at their original sizes, but it didn’t look like they were going to manage it.

“I just don’t want to shrink anything,” Harry said. “I have no idea what will happen to it when Kingsley fits me with the magic dampening bracelet tonight and my power decreases.”

“We’ll just have to take another bag then,” Draco reasoned. “Even wearing our winter coats, there just isn’t enough room for all of our new clothes, the mementoes, and the other odds and ends.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed. “Why don’t you take out the toiletries and books and I’ll go see if I can find a rucksack or something.”

Draco nodded and started pulling out his books. That had been the hardest part of deciding on what went with them and what stayed. While he had wanted all of his books, there had only been a few he could actually take as most were Wizarding in nature and thus not allowed in their restricted household, and many were tied to the home and physically couldn’t be removed from the property. The Black family copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard had been harder still as it was the only thing that had belonged to his mother that Draco owned. It was so deeply saturated in family magic that it practically glowed with it.

Harry had promised to secure it in the small vault within Grimmauld Place along with a few other things of sentimental value that they were leaving behind, including an item of two that had belonged to Sirius.

Harry returned several minutes later with a tattered leather suitcase that looked to be around thirty years old and a canvas rucksack that was fairly new.

“If it doesn’t fit in these we’re not taking it.”

“Agreed,” Draco replied and started tucking his modest collection of books into the rucksack.

“There’s some room left in the rucksack,” Draco said once everything was redistributed. “Maybe would should throw in a snack or something, just in case the food at the new house isn’t something we would want for breakfast.”

“That’s a good idea,” Harry replied setting one of the suitcases, now fully packed and zipped shut by the front door, then pulled on his coat and checked for his wallet. “I’ll pop over to Tesco and grab something to take with.”

It was a little past ten when Harry came back with a bulging shopping bag.

“Buy out the store did we?” Draco asked with a grin and Harry laughed in reply.

“Not quite,” he replied. “I just figured that we’d both be hungry since we ate a light dinner to avoid Portkey sickness, so I bought enough for two meals and some snacks. Also a few loo rolls because you never know, and it’s not like we won’t ever need them.”

With everything tucked neatly into the bags, the couple retreated to the parlor and to the game of chess they had been playing when Kingsley had arrived. They were quiet as they played, seated beside the cheery fire. The ticking of the clock counting down their last few hours in the old house sounded impossibly loud. At fifteen to, Draco started packing up the chess set to slip into one of the suitcases where they had left just enough room for it. Then the pair put on their coats and gathered the bags together. Harry taking one new one and the tattered case, while Draco took the other and the rucksack.

They stood side by side and at exactly ten to the Floo flared green and Kingsley asked to step through.

Once he had, Harry bid the Floo to go cold and a moment later the flames extinguished themselves.

“I need to place the block and trace now,” he said softly to Harry, and with a nod he stepped forward and gave the Minister his hand. Though he couldn’t see it, he could feel the weight of the binding magic as it encircled his wrist like a shackle. It only took a moment for the spell to be completed and then the weight eased away.

Then Harry stepped aside and the Minister took Draco’s hand to make the alterations to the band that he already wore. Briefly it flashed violet before fading away again.

They both then signed the final contact agreeing to not attempt to tamper with or remove the spells, and then the trio stepped out onto the cold, dark street and moved away from the house.

They watched as Number Twelve drew in on itself, leaving only 11 and 13 visible from the street.

Once it was over they walked in silence down the block to the secluded Apparition point, where Kingsley pulled out a pocket watch and waited until there was just one minute left before taking out the Portkey, a dented Ben Shaw’s Cloudy Lemonade can, and offering it to Draco. It needed to recognize the actual parolee’s binding spell in order to activate so he took it in his free hand, and then Harry immediately placed his on it as well.

“I’ll be in touch,” Kingsley said to them. “Also that other ID you wanted will be delivered to the house in a few days. There just wasn’t the time to get it tonight.”

“That’s all right,” Harry assured him. “And thank you for everything.”

The last word was barely out of his mouth when the pair were jerked out of being and then slammed to their knees on a cool wood floor.

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> I didn’t put bashing Molly Weasley because I didn’t feel it necessary.


End file.
